Following the previous two videoviews of Samsung's first Android smartphone, this videoview features the unboxing of the final Samsung Galaxy GT-I7500 which is available since this week from O2 Germany. While the previous two videoviews featured an early marketing sample with a pre-release firmware only, the Samsung Galaxy is now done and available; at least in Germany. The Galaxy isn't a "Google Experience Phone", like the T-Mobile G1 or the Vodafone HTC Magic, but you will not find any differences in terms of the Android user interface. The only real difference is, that neither Samsung nor O2 Germany will push firmware updates over the air but it has to be done by flashing the device through USB.

The Samsung Galaxy now features micro USB and a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack and therefore both, the charger/USB cable as well as the stereo headset can be replaced with non-Samsung accessories; a positive development. Furthermore the Samsung comes with a plastic pouch (not the best looking one but it protects the device) as well as a CD-ROM with drivers and other utilities.

The Samsung Galaxy GT-I7500 is now available from O2 Germany and it's neither SIM- nor Net-Locked and can be used with virtually any SIM card.

Cheers ~ Arne

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Great video, Arne - very much appreciated! Also, it's nice to know that the phone isn't SIM-locked, and that the micro-USB-charger uses a standard EU-power plug.

However, the video doesn't mention what languages (besides German and English) that are built in into the phone. Can you please list them for us?

Kind regards,
Nils

The Galaxy lists: CZ, DE (AT/CH/DE), EN (AU/UK/IE/NZ/US/SA), ES, FR, IT, NO (Bokmal), NL, PL and PT. Language-wise it's pretty complete and unlike Windows Mobile Professional smartphones, the device isn't featuring one language only.

Thanks for your answer, Arne. Too bad Danish and Swedish aren't among the languages (so far, Google hasn't expressed any interest in those languages at all).

Anyway, again thanks for the video and "mini review" - keep 'em coming!

Hurray, PT is in the list of languages.

Can you tell me something, i what to buy this from O2, soon as possible, but my German is TOO bad...Any tips?

Hugs from the corner of Europe ( Portugal )

Does this mean I could buy the phone without a contract, ship it to the US and plug my T-Mobile sim-card in and it would work fine?

@PJFonseca: Well, AFAIF O2 Germany isn't shipping outside Germany so you need to find an online store which does. Maybe Expansys.de or Amazon.de. Ok, both don't have English website but the German website are the same as the English equivalents, maybe this helps?

@calverna: Yes, O2 Germany sells its phones, even the exclusive, without contracts as well and this means you can plug-in any SIM card you like. And, according to the Global Certification Forum, the European Galaxy features T-Mobile US' 1700 MHz UMTS band so it should work in T-Mobile's UMTS network as well, you import it. However, this needs to be confirmed yet because often the GCF receives wrong info from the manufactures.

Nice unboxing video Arne. In the Netherlands we can't wait for this device to be sold. My only concern is the amount of RAM. On the internet there seems to be a lot of discussion about it. Some say there's 128 MB in total, others say that there is 192 MB of RAM free to run programs. Can you give us some certainty about this issue? Thank you in advance for your reply.

Sleek and compact - the hardware feels particularly good to me, from what I see. More valuable than the Magic/MyTouch 3G - and at a similar price. I guess to date this is the Android phone to get if you don't want a hardware keyboard.

The set of hardware buttons seems to be a bit more mainstreamed/phone centric as well. If I am right the search button has been dropped. One thing that looks awkward to use is the "press long" virtual keyboard button. What happens if you press it regularly? And: Does the virtual keyboard expand automatically when an input text field is touched - like on HTC devices?

Description of the home button "task manager" wasn't too accurate. In fact it shows a list of most recently used apps/activities, not a list of "programs running". (A typical Android application suspends when its user interface becomes invisible.)

About the presentation: Visually well done; I wish the comment wasn't that slow and overly verbose. It's a bit tiring (non-native speaker etc.). And it takes the viewer about 1-2 minutes before the unboxing starts at all.

I would also like to know about the RAM issue... Pls post how much total RAM is on the device or how much is available to run applications (or both bits of info if you can find them!)
Many thanks!

I would like to know more specific what the "branding" is.
Is it just the paper that promotes O2 or does the phone itself
have any O2-branding? I am thinking about buying one
"mit Branding o2" and import to Sweden. But I don't want to buy
a crippled phone...

Btw, nice video!

Damn these phones take a while to start up, it's like sitting through all the trailers before you can watch the movie.  Could Samsung not settle on just one splash screen, preferably including the Android logo too!

@nightcrow: AFAIK it's indeed 192 MB RAM but I've just sent an E-Mail to get the 100 % confirmation. Stay tuned for an update. Unfortunately the specs don't give a real answer.

@baertram: Yes, the search button is only needed if it would be a "Google Experience" phone. Google changed this requirement with the HTC Magic launch.
If you press the menu button short (the one you have to press long for the keyboard), it opens the context menu. And for sure, the keyboard appears if you select an input field. However, I found some applications where the keyboard doesn't came up automatically and therefore it's good to know how to get the keyboard manually.
Furthermore, from the user experience, the Home button indeed acts as a kind of Task manager. Not all Google applications suspends, you can have background apps running (for instance Twitter clients, etc.). Also apps like Google Maps Mobile might open at the same state at which they were left. Sure, it also shows a list of recently used apps but this is combined with the still running apps.

@Anon: See my comment to "nightcrow". Will update it as soon as I have the RAM confirmed by Samsung.

@Tom W: The device comes without any carrier branding. Normally O2 is doing a decent branding only, like customizing the splash screen but O2's Galaxy even comes without that branding. The only O2 stuff you would see/get are the sticker on the box and the marketing flyer inside; that's it! No crippled software/hardware! :-)

@Craigt: Yes, it takes time but it's comparable to the HTC G1/Magic/Touch. The Samsung isn't any slower and as a matter of fact, most recent smartphones take time to boot.

Great video Arne, thank you!

I have one question:
How does the warranty work? Does it work throughout Europe?

Thanks,
Victor

You said earlier that it should work on T-Mobile US, can you please confirm this. So if i were to put in my sim would the phone work on my existing G1 data plan?

@Victor: I've just double-checked the mentioned warranty card and indeed it says that you have to return the device to either to original retailer (in this case O2) or "Samsung Authorized Dealers and Authorised Service Centers in other EC Countries will comply with warranty in terms issued to purchasers the the county concerned". Than follows a list of local Samsung customer care centers.

@Justin: I can't confirm anything, I haven't tested it myself on T-Mobile's US network. All I said is that wireless-wise, the Galaxy is said to support T-Mobile US' 1700 MHz UMTS network. Also I'm not sure if T-Mobile is doing an IMEI/TAC based charging where they can identify the device as something different than a T-Mobile G1 and charge you with a different plan. I know from some carriers that they can do this and that they are doing it! :-(